


The Weak Link

by zhiyenxo



Category: UP10TION
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 07:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12790080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhiyenxo/pseuds/zhiyenxo
Summary: Because he never ever wanted to let go of this poor boy who had allowed his self-doubt to consume himself.





	The Weak Link

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER(?) WARNING:
> 
> There are mentions of Wooshin's hiatus and the members' thoughts about it. But none of the member's negative words relating to it are true!! Everything in this fanfic are just for story purposes. Both UP10TION and I respect Wooshin fully ^^

_**The Weak Link** _

_**Words: 5625** _

 

"I have a good news."

Their manager stood before them, arms intertwined across his chest. But instead of his usual scary resting face, he was smiling. A sight that the boys only witnessed when their manager was very elated about something.

"You will finally have your first ever concert," he announced.

The boys could not believe their ears. Even the calm and composed leader, Jinwook, was staring at their manager with a loud gasp.

"Is that really true?" He asked on behalf of everyone.

Their manager nodded, "The concert will take place at the end of this month, along with the other groups in the company. Yours is scheduled to be on the 30th. We will give you more information when the time is near."

"Hooray!"

They cheered and high-fived each other. They were finally given a chance to showcase what they've be training for all these years, a chance to present themselves to a larger audience.

"But Wooshin..." Sungjoon broke the string of heartfelt congratulations to each other.

The boys stopped and an immediate sad face locked onto them at the thought of their missing member.

"I know, Sungjoon, but we have to follow the orders. Besides, he would be proud of all of you even if he isn't here," their manager spoke.

"He's right. We have to do our best," Jinwook nodded. "Shall we do a cheer?" He asked, already reaching out his hand.

The boys did not need to be told twice. They followed suit in age order, calling out their own names as they did, and ended with a loud cheer they knew too well.

Their manager then continued, "Now, you have exactly a month to train and prepare for the concert. I expect good progress and behaviour."

"Yes, sir!"

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

That night, Hwanhee sat on his bed, casually scrolling their group's Twitter. Their last update was a picture of their new album's photocard. Some of them had a live broadcast to introduce their album earlier. He was their videographer, and he had fun messing around with the filters. At times like this, Hwanhee felt at ease, but it was lonely to have a huge room all to himself. But, he was not the only one with such an arrangement. Gyujin stayed next to him, and he was not exactly a quiet person. Often, he could hear Gyujin working out. He would be counting, and Hwanhee realised that the numbers would only keep going up. Sometimes, he wondered if his hyung was doing a bit too much.

There was a knock and the door opened, revealing their god-like member, Minsoo. His visuals was only second to Wooseok. Hwanhee would have voted for him to be the visual of the group, if it was not for Wooseok's piercing stare when they first decided.

"Hwan-ah, we are going to practise for a bit. Are you coming?"

"Yeah," Hwanhee got off the bed and went to the door. Luckily, he was already dressed in a rather comfortable attire for dancing.

Minsoo went to get Gyujin next, and Hwanhee predicted he would be doing some sit-ups. He realised that he was right when he caught a glimpse of the man crouched on his back on the wooden floor next to his bed. Soon enough, all of UP10TION were gathered at a practice room at midnight.

Blood, sweat, tears. It was exactly as what the famous song was named. Those are shed in practice rooms, where they worked hard to bring out the best performances for their fans. Usually, Hwanhee would not mind working really hard with the other members. In fact, he wanted to. But he was not born a great dancer. Memorising choreographies was not his specialty. But he never thought he would quit, because he was able to make good progress despite it all, that was how he still stayed.

"Don't you think you are slowing all of us down?"

Hwanhee stopped and looked up at the source of the voice. Yein was staring right at him, both arms on his hips. Hwanhee felt the atmosphere growing tense as the other members also stopped dancing.

'You've fallen and messed up this song five times tonight. We don't have time to entertain your flaws," Yein continued. There was a clear indication of anger across his face. He seldom expressed this unless something really upset him.

The music stopped, and Jinwook proceeded to come forward.

"Yein-"

"I've had enough of this," Yein threw his hands up and stormed out of the practice room, leaving everyone bewildered by his sudden outburst of anger.

Hwanhee was the 'blackhole' in dancing, but he was never that bad for someone else to get so worked up about it. Sooil and Minsoo ran out of the room to chase after Yein. Those who stayed remained silent. The silence was so deafening that Hwanhee wished he could dig a hole and hide in there forever. Dongyeol went over to him. There was not a single trace of the usual cheeriness that Hwanhee put on everyday.

"Hyung..." Dongyeol put a hand on the said boy's shoulder.

"He's probably still upset about the hiatus, let's allow him to cool off. A lot has been going on lately," Jinwook explained, trying to get Hwanhee to understand.

Hwanhee nodded and painstakingly fought back the tears that were brimming. No, he could not show that he was weak. It would only bring in more misfortune and embarrassment. He would not allow himself to do that. He would not...

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The two boys managed to find Yein and calmed him down. But they were not in the right mind to continue practising, so they went back to the dorm. It was already near to 3am, and they decided to catch up on some sleep before a new day began. They had lots to do this month.

Hwanhee, though, could not seem to sleep. He sat on the bed, alone in this eerie darkness. He only stared ahead at the nothingness. He had never really looked around his room in the dark due to the tiredness. But this time, he could not fall asleep as easily as before. The lack of lighting really changed the appearance of the whole room. He decorated his room in bright colours, his favourite soft toys lined on the bed, giving him warmth. But now, he only felt the cold emptiness. The darkness made the whole room seemed mysterious, daunting and lonely. He sighed inaudibly. It would be a long night now despite the fact that there were only a few hours left before they start their schedule.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The sun finally rose and alarm clocks rang in all rooms. The unison of all four alarm clocks was enough to wake the whole house up. Hwanhee opened his eyes, he had been sleeping in this sitting position all along. He moved and his limps groaned from the awkward position. He heard shufflings from outside his room. The hyungs were up. There was no performance today, but they had to practise. It was all they ever cared about, and the thought of practising twisted his heart. But despite yesterday's incident, he had to deal with it. There was no time to sit around and sulk.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by the chatters from downstairs. From his position, he was able to catch a glimpse of the top of Yein's head. He was sitting on the sofa with some others. He seemed noticibly more awake then those around him. When he laughed, his head tilted back a little, allowing Hwanhee to see his face. And Yein's words from last night soon rang in his head, more painful than the sound of the alarms in early morning.

"Hwan-ah?"

Jinwook's voice brought him back to reality. He looked up at their leader and blinked in both confusion and shock.

"You alright?" Jinwook asked worriedly.

"Y-Yeah," Hwanhee smiled. "Just woke up."

Jinwook patted his back, "Come on, let's go wash up."

The door of the second floor bathroom was locked, so the two of them both stayed outside for a while. There was not much rush today due to the absence of any performances lined today. Usually, they would be running around and trying to wash up in a few seconds.

Hwanhee felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He knew Jinwook was worried. Last night was a shock to everyone, but he wished that Jinwook would stop trying to burn a hole in him using his eyes. His wish was granted when the door clicked open and Gyujin walked out. Hwanhee got in in less than a second, closing the door behind him. Gyujin stared at the door in shock, then back at Jinwook.

"Is he..."

Jinwook shook his head and sighed. They then walked further from the bathroom so that Hwanhee could not hear their conversation.

Hwanhee splashed water on himself and gripped onto both sides of the sink. He heaved a sigh and looked up at the mirror. He should stop showing a face of sadness and put on a brave front. He should not be letting a few angry remarks to affect him, he was better than to mope around. He has to do something to improve his dancing. Someone knocked on the door and Hwanhee immediately straightened himself up.

"Hwan-ah, we have to go to the company building in a few minutes," Jinwook said.

"Okay, hyung!" Hwanhee replied and quickly squeezed a blob of toothpaste onto his toothbrush.

When he was done washing, he opened the door to call for the next person in, but was stopped by Yein. He was not expecting him to be up here.

"H-Hyung..."

"Um...Hwan-ah. I'm sorry about last night," Yein mumbled.

"Don't, hyung."

But Yein continued, "It was all my fault. I was just really affected about Wooseok hyung's hiatus and I wasn't in my right mind when we practised. I took out my anger on you instead of trying to understand. I'm so sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Hwanhee's face softened but not too much, "Of course, hyung. How can I ever be angry at you. You are right. I should...I shouldn't be making mistakes at times like this. We have a huge concert going on and I shouldn't be goofing around."

Yein was taken aback by the reply. "O-Okay...We will help you too. We will all improve together."

Hwanhee walked away, into his bedroom. Yein looked down at the other members who had been listening. Although the tension between the two had been lifted, Jinwook was still feeling concerned. Something about Hwanhee seemed...off.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"So for this step, don't focus too much on your arm movements. Just let it guide you to lift you off the floor so you don't fall out of balance," Jinwook told Gyujin.

"Okay, hyung," Gyujin replied.

It was break time right now and only some were still trying to correct their moves. It was not an uncommon sight to see people like Changhyun, Sungjoon and Gyujin still moving about in their tiny circle. But it was uncommon to see Hwanhee dancing in a corner with Dongyeol monitoring him. They were standing in front of the mirror, checking Hwanhee's moves. Jinwook frowned. Hwanhee was never like this. He would usually sit with Dongyeol and crack jokes.

But maybe, just maybe, Hwanhee only wanted to work a little harder for the concert.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

That night, Gyujin was rudely awaken by someone shaking his arm and whispering his name. He opened his eyes, still mumbling words from his dream.

"Gyujin hyung!" The whisper got harsher.

"Wh-What?" Gyujin looked over to his right. It was their beloved second maknae. "Hwanhee? What's wrong?"

"Can you help me with something?' Hwanhee asked.

Gyujin sat up on his bed, rubbing sleep away from his eyes. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Can I work out with you at night?"

"Yeah...Wait what?" Gyujin's eyes snapped opened. He was more awake now. "What do you mean? Why all of a sudden?"

Hwanhee looked down and whispered, "Just want to...be more fitter."

Gyujin was speechless. Jinwook had warned all of them about Hwanhee's suspicious actions and to mointor him. He did not know what he should reply.

"Please, hyung?" Hwanhee begged, his puppy eyes shone in the moonlight.

"Oh, Hwanhee...." Gyujin sighed and leaned over to the small lamp on the table to turn it on.

The light illuminated the room a little and Gyujin faced Hwanhee again.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

Hwanhee shrugged, "Nothing...I just want to improve, you know? The concert's coming and I don't want to screw up."

"You won't screw up, Hwan-ah. I know you wouldn't."

"Just...Are you going to help or not?" Hwanhee frowned. "If not, I'll just find a way to-"

"No, Hwanhee. I'll...I'll help you." At least he could monitor Hwanhee this way, couldn't he?

At that, Hwanhee's face lit up. "Thank you!" He hugged Gyujin tightly.

"Man, you're really..." Gyujin laughed nervously.

Hwanhee let go and his face got serious again. "Promise me you won't tell anyone."

Gyujin sighed, "Alright."

And Hwanhee heaved a sigh of relief.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Ever since then, Hwanhee would sneak into Gyujin's room after lights out to engage in their 'secret mission'. Gyujin had a series of workouts planned for him to do, and Hwanhee did them all with no problems. It caught Gyujin by surprise but he had no choice but to give harder challenges. Until, Hwanhee had better plans.

"Just a few more seconds, Hwan-ah," Gyujin said to the boy who was on the position for planking. "5...4...3...2...1...Okay, stop."

Hwanbee groaned out softly and rolled to lie on his back, breathing hard.

"That was 2 minutes and 15 seconds. You'll exceed me at this rate," Gyujin told him, unsure if this was a good or bad news.

Hwanhee gave out a laugh, "You're still better than me."

"Take a break, we'll move on to crunches next."

Hwanhee sat up, then seemed to be pondering for a moment. "Hyung, can we move to the gym?"

"The gym?" Gyujin asked. "Why?"

"You know...more privacy. And we can talk normally there," Hwanhe tried to reason.

"That sounds right. But we can't leave the dorm during lights out."

"We'll sneak out, and then come back before 4am."

Gyujin frowned a little, "I don't really know about that..."

"Come on, let's give it a shot tomorrow," Hwanhee begged.

Gyujin sighed, "Alright. Now let's get on to the crunches and then we'll sleep."

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The moment the last light was turned off the next night, the entire dorm grew silent. Hwanhee laid wide awake on his bed. He turned over to his side and waited for a while. Until he was very sure that everyone had fallen into slumber, he got out of bed and tip-toed towards Gyujin's bedroom. He opened it slowly, revealing Gyujin who was already preparing to go off.

"Are you sure about this?" The older among the two asked in a harsh whisper.

"Yes, hyung. Let's go. Don't worry," Hwanhee replied.

Gyujin nodded and reluctantly followed. Hwanhee opened the door slowly, careful not to make too much noise. When it was opened just enough for a body, they slipped out and Gyujin closed the door. They subsequently made a haste journey to the company building. They slipped into the back door and hurried up the stairs in soft steps. There are still some staffs here and they were trying their best to be quiet. Finally, they succeded in reaching the gym unnoticed.

"Well, that was already a workout for the mind," Gyujin joked as he sat on the studio step.

Hwanhee smiled and closed the curtain fully.

"Alright, let's start," he said.

"Ah, right." Gyujin almost forgotten why they were here in the first place. He unlocked his phone and found his favourite fitness challenge.

"What's next?"

"Sit-ups. Let's do 40 in a minute."

"That's too less."

"You'll tire yourself out."

"50? Please?"

"Fine," Gyujin sighed, "50."

He started the timer and watched Hwanhee start. He pursed his lips. Many times, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Keeping all of these a secret was a huge risk, especially when Hwanhee had not been fine since Yein's flare-up. He rubbed the back of his neck. Even if Hwanhee was not tired, he was. The timer beeped and Hwanhee stopped instantaneously.

"Alright, that was 53," Gyujin said.

Hwanhee frowned, "It's lesser than the last time."

"You did your best, Hwan-ah."

Hwanhee sat up. "That's not enough," he whispered.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Nothing."

Gyujin sighed. "You know. You're even more obsessed than me about working out."

"Really?" Hwanhee chuckled.

"That's not actually funny, Hwan. I'm worried."

At that, Hwanhee brought both knees up to his chin.

"I have no choice."

"What do you mean?" Gyujin frowned.

"The concert is two weeks later, hyung. Don't you...Don't you think we should be refining our dances and vocals?"

"I think you've done too much."

Hwanhee's breath hitched and he blinked nervously at the floor.

"Hwan?" Gyujin asked uncertainly.

"Aren't you proud of me?" The said boy looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm finally doing something. I won't be able to mess up next time, would I?"

"You're still thinking about what Yein hyung said?"

"I just...agree with him."

Gyujin paused and glowered, "You're not slowing any of us down."

"Then...Then why are we not popular..." Hwanhee choked.

"It's not your fault."

"There must be something wrong with us. Even Wooseok hyung is leaving. Maybe it's just me. I'm the weak link of the group. I-"

"No, that's not true! He will come back. It's not your fault." Gyujin knew that under the noisy and happy-go-lucky singer was a boy with insecurities larger than any one of them. But he had never seen him break down like this.

"Then, why-" Fresh tears made their way down Hwanhee's smooth face and the latter buried his face into his hands.

Gyujin came forward and hugged him. Despite the sweat, he hugged him tight. Because he never ever wanted to let go of this poor boy who had allowed his self-doubt to consume himself.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Hey girl juwil bwabwa da neoreul tamnaeneun geol..."

The boys stared at the TV screen in their waiting room for the SBS TheShow. It was HALO on stage right now and they were admiring the choreography and vocals from their senior group. Jinwook looked around to count the heads. But when he got to Hwanhee, he stopped. The latter was sleeping on the couch. He always had been taking naps in waiting rooms lately. Jinwook then went over to Gyujin who had just got his hair done.

"Gyujin-ah," he called out and sat beside him.

"What is it, hyung?"

"Have you noticed anything wrong with Hwanhee these days?"

Gyujin was taken aback, but he did not let it show on his face. "No."

"He has been so tired these days. But all of us have the same schedules, so I wonder what he has been doing."

"Maybe the trainings tired him out. He is doing a little more than usual this time."

"Maybe..." Jinwook sighed. "You stay nearest to his room, can you help us?"

"Yeah, sure."

Jinwook finally smiled, "Thank you."

"UP10TION, you're up next," a staff came to inform them.

"Got it!" The boys replied.

They started to get ready for the stage. Jinwook shook Hwanhee and waited for him to wake up, making them the last to go. Hwanhee fluttered his eyes open and was surprised to see Jinwook.

"Oh, hyung," he mumbled sleepily.

"Time for stage," Jinwook said.

"Okay, I'm coming," Hwanhee stood up and went for the door too.

"Hey, you sure you're alright?" Jinwook patted his back.

"Yeah, of course. Just tired..." Hwanhee smiled.

"Come on, hyungs!" Dongyeol yelled after them.

"Coming!" Hwanhee went off.

Jinwook followed behind but he was still unsure.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

After checking to make sure everyone had went to bed, Jinwook walked to retreat to his room too. But he stopped outside of Hwanhee's room and hesitated. Should he talk to him? Since he was so tired, he could have been asleep by now, was this the right time to talk? Jinwook fought the indecisive thoughts in his mind and eventually knocked on the door. He was nervous because he was unsure of what he would find out behind this door. He expected the boy to be asleep but he heard shufflings and the door opened. Hwanhee was utterly suprised.

"Jinwook hyung..." He gasped.

"Hey Hwan-ah," Jinwook smiled, "I know it's late and you have to sleep, but I wish to talk to you. Is that alright with you?"

Hwanhee looked down, seemingly unsure of what to say. Jinwook did not want to rush him, so he waited. The younger then hesitantly let Jinwook into the room. Hwanhee sat on the bed, huggong his legs. Jinwook decided to give him space and sat on the chair.

"So...I was wondering why you are so tired lately," Jinwook started.

"Trainings," Hwanhee replied simply.

Jinwook nodded. That was not wrong but... "Is it really just the trainings?"

"Yes, there's nothing else."

"You haven't been doing things in the middle of the night, have you?"

Hwanhee avoided his gaze, "No."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Jinwook noticed that Hwanhee relaxed a little at that statement, but he did not want to expose him in the middle of the night. That would be....loud.

"I just want you to know that the other members and I are really worried about you. If you feel uncomfortable telling me about it, I hope that you have someone else whom you can confide into. We just want you to be that same joyful Hwanhee again," Jinwook smiled at the back, hoping that Hwanhee would do the same.

"Of course, hyung," Hwanhee replied with a smile, but Jinwook was already an expert at identifying fake smiles from this particular boy.

The leader stood up from the chair. "Get the rest you need and I hope to see you refreshed tomorrow. Don't go too hard on yourself, alright?"

"Yes, mom," Hwanhee giggled.

Jinwook was glad that he was able to bring out a joke.

"Goodnight, son." He ruffled his red hair and left the room.

Was he doing the right thing to leave this soon? Should he have pursued further? He shrugged, at least he had tried to convey a message that he had always wanted to. Hopefully, Hwanhee would understand.

After the Jinwook and Sooil's bedroom door clicked to a close, Hwanhee stared at his door for a moment. That was close. If he had not been careful, he would be caught. He would not let Jinwook ruin his plans, not at this stage. They were so close to the concert now, he did not want to give up just like that. After he was sure that Jinwook was no longer on his tail, Hwanhee went for his door. But he was greeted by a grim face from Gyujin.

"Let's not work out tonight," he said.

"What? Why?" Hwanhee asked.

"Don't you understand? You're basically killing yourself!" Gyujin did not raise his voice, but his face was enough to make Hwanhee scared.

"Hyung...This is importa-"

"Even if you're not tired, I am," Gyujin sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair back in frustration. "We need a break. You need a break. We've been doing this since two weeks ago. You can't go on like this."

Hwanhee remained silent. He did find some sense in his words. But...

"I'm trying to say that you've already done more than enough to improve. I bet with your stamina, you can have three concerts in a row. Let's stop for now, alright? The usual trainings will be enough for the remaining days."

Hwanhee was speechless. How could Gyujin not understand him?

"Promise me!" Gyujin pressed on.

"Y-Yes," Hwanhee mumbled.

"Now, let's sleep. You really need it," Gyujin went back to his room without looking back at him.

Hwanhee was stupefied by Gyujin's sudden change of thought. But he had to listen...he did not want to disappoint anyone anymore. If Gyujin thought that skipping a few days of midnight workouts would be okay, maybe he was right. He closed the door and climbed onto bed. Just this once. He would trust Gyujin.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

During the entire training the next day, he felt a pair of eyes staring at his every move. But everytime he turned around, he could not pinpoint anyone staring at him. It was uncomfortable. Training was extremely tiring today. Strangely, he had never felt this way before. He would always be very determined to get through the day and start again. Maybe it was because he slept early last night. He sighed and wiped away the sweat that was dripping from his chin. He would have to work harder then.

Jinwook ended the training after lunch time and the members were free to go about their own ways till the evening. Hwanhee could not bear to give up the free time they had to only slack around. He freshened up before heading back to the main door.

"Hwan-ah, where are you going?"

He paused in his tracks to look back at Jinwook standing behind him.

"To train," he replied.

"It's a time to relax, Hwan. Why are you going back there?" Jinwook asked.

"Just...let me go."

"I'll come with you," Gyujin joined in.

Hwanhee shook his head, "I want to train alone."

"But-"

Jinwok stopped Gyujin, "Bring Dongyeol with you. He helps you correct your moves, didn't he?"

Hwanhee stole a look at Dongyeol, who was sitting on the sofa, and nodded.

"Dongyeol-ah, take care of him, alright?" Jinwook instructed.

"Yes, hyung!" Dongyeol beelined towards Hwanhee and gave him a grin.

"Don't come home too late, and don't overwork yourself," Jinwook reminded.

Hwanhee gave a slight nod before leaving the house with Dongyeol.

"Why did you let him go?" Gyujin asked the leader.

"If we can't stop him, at least he listens to Dongyeol. Dongyeol would bring him to the icecream shop even before they step into the company building. That's how they spent their free time in the past, isn't it?" Jinwook explained.

"That's true..." Gyujin bit his lips. But Jinwook had no idea just how severe this was.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Hwanhee was quiet throughout their walk even though Dongyeol was trying to grab his attention to the things around them. Bringing someone with him would limit the amount of training he could get, and he hoped that Dongyeol would just mind his own business later, or better, join him.

"Hey hyung, can we get some icecream?" Dongyeol pointed towards the icecream store that they always frequented, to the point that the owner often gave them celebrity discounts.

"I want to-"

"Come on, hyung! Stop thinking about work all the time and relax," Dongyeol interrupted.

Before Hwanhee could protest, Dongyeol was already dragging him into the store and greeting the lady at the counter.

"Now, sit here and I'll get you one too. My treat," Dongyeol set Hwanhee at their usual table. "Which do you want?"

"Dongyeol, I-"

"No, no, no," Dongyeol placed a finger on Hwanhee's lips. "Tell me what flavour you want."

Hwanhee shrugged and answered, “Mint chocolate."

"Coming right up!" Dongyeol sang and skipped towards the counter.

Hwanhee stared out of the display window, having the urge to run out of the icecream store and into the practice room where all his hopes lied. But there was Dongyeol, he could not disobey his best friend. He watched him order the icecream happily and came over. Handing over the cup of mint chocolate icecream, Dongyeol sat down opposite him.

"This is great!" Dongyeol exclaimed as he wolfed down his own.

"You say that to every icecream you've eaten in your life," Hwanhee said.

"Because they are all amazing!" Dongyeol grinned. "Why can't you guys understand that?"

"Don't eat too much, okay?"

"You know I still would," the greedy boy smiled cheekily.

Hwanhee rolled his eyes jokingly.

"Say, hyung, why are you training so much these days?"

Hwanhee was taken aback by the sudden question.

"What do you mean? Isn't 'practice more' all that you guys say to me?"

"But you've always listened to our feedbacks and you are wonderful on stage. Why are you overexerting yourself?"

"I'm not."

Dongyeol then made a move that Hwanhee did not expect. The former placed a hand on Hwanhee's forehead and frowned.

"You do realise that you're running a fever, right?"

"I'm not," Hwanhee bit back.

"You're flushed and speaking nonsense, this isn't the Hwanhee hyung I know."

"You're the one not trusting me."

"You're not thinking this clearly. I'm bringing you back," Dongyeol stood up.

"No!" Hwanhee yelled and avoided the hand that was grabbing for him. "None of you understand me!" He dashed out of the store immediately after, leaving his unfinished icecream.

"Hyung!" Dongyeol took both icecream and chased after him, but quickly lost him in the crowd.

"Damn it," he cursed and fished out his phone to call for help.

_"Xiao-yah? What's up?"_ Jinwook voice came up.

"Trouble. Hyung has a fever and he ran off. I don't know where he went."

_"What?!"_ Jinwook screamed in his ears to the point that Dongyeol had to hold his phone away from his poor ears. _"Check the practice rooms. We're coming."_

"Okay," they hung up and Dongyeol made a quick run to the company building while gobbling up the icecream.

He ran up to the nearest practice room but it was empty. The next one was occupied by their sunbaes. He ran to all of the rooms but was left disappointed. He then spot the other members on the ground floor and went to them.

"Why are you still eating?" Sungjoon asked, pointing to the cup of green-coloured joy.

"I can't let it go to waste," Dongyeol grinned.

"Any luck?" Jinwook ignored the snack and asked.

"No," Dongyeol shook his head. "He isn't in any of the practice rooms."

"Would he have gone back to the dorm without us knowing?" Changhyun asked.

"Judging from his character, he wouldn't want to return home after this happened," Dongyeol replied.

"The rooftop," Jinwook said and ran up the stairs, the other members following behind.

When they reached the door leading to the rooftop, Jinwook stopped the rest of them and went out himself. And there he was. Hwanhee was leaning against the ledge of the roof, staring into the city. Jinwook quietly walked over beside him and breathed in the fresh air from this higher point.

"I figured that you would be here since you aren't in the practice rooms."

"Go away," Hwanhee croaked, and Jinwook could hear that he was crying earlier. But he did not move a muscle.

"Hwan-ah, listen to me. Go home and get some rest. You can't aggravate your fever further," he continued.

Hwanhee looked down, "Why are you stopping me from training? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"We've never wanted you to train to the point that you turn a blind eye to what's really wrong." Jinwook sighed. "What you're doing right now is dangerous. You're overworking yourself, this isn't the way. Instead of improving like what you are hoping for, you are destroying your own body."

"When we were trainees, we swore that we would help each other become famous, that we would take home throphies. But the best that we've gotten was only being a nominee. I, too, swore to all of you that I would work hard together with everyone so we could succeed. But I'm not doing my job properly. Many times all of you told me to stop playing and focus. And Wooseok hyung...he...the fans..." Hwanhee paused and breathed, trying to will away the tears that were threatening to fall again. "I caused all of these."

"No, Hwanhee, that's not true. We never thought that you are bad."

"If we were popular, maybe no one will hate us anymore," Hwanhee looked up at Jinwook.

The leader softened. "I know it's hard, Hwan, seeing people like them exist. But being strong doesn't involve working yourself to death in order to satisfy them. What we truly want from you is that you enjoy yourself while you work. We all have the same dream, that's why we are UP10TION. And because _we_ are UP10TION, we won't leave you suffering by yourself. For the past year, you've been doing great. On stage, you are charismatic and energetic. Off stage, you are goofy and joyful, always talking and laughing with us, but at the same time you are hardworking."

"It was really fun..." Hwanhee nodded.

"I know that you've been staying up late to work out with Gyujin. I heard you two through the door that night."

Hwanhee widened his eyes and looked up at him.

"But I won't scold you for that. You just want to have a perfect concert. I know the stress from the fans and the concert is getting to you. But if you truly want to work extra hard during these few days, approach us. Don't suffer alone in the wrong ways, alright?"

"Are you really...not mad at me?"

Jinwook smiled, "Why would I? Why would we? You have good intentions, you just need to learn what is the right way to do it."

"Thank you, hyung...I...I needed that."

"Now, let's go back, okay?"

Hwanhee nodded and collapsed onto him. Jinwook heaved a sigh of relief. With one hand holding onto the younger and the other giving a thumbs-up, the other members bursted through the door.

"Is he alright?" Dongyeol asked, eyeing his best friend who was lying still on Jinwook's chest.

"He will be," Jinwook smiled, "Now, let's take care of our precious Hwan-ah."

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you for reading my fanfic!! Please do vote in the poll below! Comments and upvotes are appreciated~ (=^-ω-^=)** _


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